Fulbright Specialist Award to Carnegie Institution and Dr. Marilyn Fogel

Fulbright Specialist Award to Carnegie Institution and Dr. Marilyn Fogel

As part of its international scientific exchange effort, the Fulbright Specialists Program has awarded Carnegie scientist Marilyn Fogel a grant to share the most up-to-date findings in the fields of astrobiology and biogeochemistry with staff and students at the Physics of Geological Processes, University of Oslo, Norway, taking part in the Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE).

From: http://carnegiescience.edu/news/fulbright_awards_senior_specialist_grant_carnegie_s_marilyn_fogel

Fulbright Specialist Award to Carnegie Institution and Dr. Marilyn Fogel
Dr.Fogel
Washington, DC — As part of its international scientific exchange effort, the Fulbright Specialists Program has awarded Carnegie scientist Marilyn Fogel a grant to share the most up-to-date findings in the fields of astrobiology and biogeochemistry with staff and students at the Physics of Geological Processes, University of Oslo, Norway.

The Fulbright Specialists Program provides two- to six-week opportunities for leading U.S. scholars to collaborate with colleagues in non-U.S. post-secondary academic institutions. Fogel will give lectures, participate in workshops, and take part in fieldwork in association with the Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE)* this summer.

AMASE is an interdisciplinary, international team, which is designing devices and techniques to find life on Mars. The test ground is Svalbard, a Norwegian island in the far north with a geology that is analogous to some Martian geology.   

Fogel will lecture on astrobiology, an interdisciplinary field that probes the processes that led to life on this planet and explores whether it exists elsewhere. In her research, she looks at distinctive isotopes of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen to trace phenomena ranging from the role of humans in altering the landscape in ancient Australia, to the nature of microorganisms that first populated the Earth.

“This Fulbright grant is the first of its kind for Carnegie,” commented Carnegie president Richard Meserve. “We are very pleased with this award because it will help to maintain the strong linkage that has been established between Carnegie and Norwegian scientists.” 

Fogel has been a staff scientist at the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory since 1979. Her undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate research has spanned the spectrum of biology, chemistry, and geology. She graduated with a B.S. in biology from Pennsylvania State University with honors and went on to get her Ph.D. at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute.

*The AMASE Team comes from the following institutions: Physics of Geological Processes, University of Oslo, Norway; The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Geophysical Laboratory; the University of Leeds; Universidad de Burgos, Spain; GEMOC, Macquarie University, Australia; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; LPI – Lunar and Planetary Institute;  and Penn State University.

The Carnegie Institution of Washington (http://carnegiescience.edu/) has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research since 1902. It is a private, nonprofit organization with six research departments throughout the U.S. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.

 

Looking for Life on Mars - on Svalbard

You can read more about the fieldwork and the AMASE group’s daily life on Svalbard (with and without polar beers), on Marilyn Fogel's website: http://fogel.gl.ciw.edu/. Here is an excerpt:

“For the third year, I have packed up a serious amount of scientific supplies, cold weather clothing, and headed with several Carnegie colleagues to the Arctic refuge of Svalbard to join the AMASE 06 expedition. … This year’s trip had its own unique flavor. Owing to personal reasons, Hans Amundsen, the expedition’s originator and Governor, was unable to join the group for the first week. In addition, we moved our operations to a new ship, the Norwegian Polar Institute’s R/V Lance, a 28-year-old scientific, Arctic cruiser, staffed with some interesting crew members. Third, this is the first year we had official NASA funding … The trip starts in the town of Longyearbyen … Boarding the ship is a process. About 5 taxi loads of scientists with their gear (at least 100 different boxes and bags) went onto the ship around mid-day …”

 

Explore AMASE on your own through these links: